It started out a typical day at Bay Point Preparatory School outside Milwaukee. Students wrestled with college applications and figuring out the
rest of their lives, while peers dealt with rejection and dismissal (or just streaked the halls, in the case of the attention-seeking jock), and
faculty tried their best to keep over four hundred teens more or less behaving.
Then came the rumble, and the flash... and suddenly, losing out on a spot in the school play becomes the least of concerns.
The entire school has been suddenly and inexplicably transported elsewhere. Where, nobody knows, but a ringed gas giant planet looms like a malevolent
crimson moon, and a primordial forest full of nightmarish beasts surrounds the building. Only a single strange artifact, an arrow-like construct, gives
any hint at civilization. While the school body struggles to cope, a handful of students ventures into the woods, following the pointing stone in hopes
of finding answers - if they can survive, that is.
Review
This graphic novel kicks off a dark and strange new series. After a quick glimpse at the star players, adult and teen alike, the tale launches straight
into survival mode on an alien world (or moon, rather, as it seems to be orbiting another planet.) While the school descends into dystopian chaos as the
principal, the head coach, and the student council president vie for control amid food shortages and animal attacks (with brutal, even deadly consequences),
six students set out into the woods, led by a computer nerd who may or may not be under alien influence. Disaster quickly brings out the best and the worst
in the cast, while the new world targets its latest prey indiscriminately. It's a violent, paranoia-riddled tale, and things only look to get more intense
as the series continues.
Deep in the deadly alien woods, six students from the displaced Wisconsin high school have encountered wonders and terrors, weighted toward
the latter. Computer geek Adrian continues following the alien call from the arrow-stone, regardless of the cost to his companions Karen and
Calder, while Sanami, Isaac, and big Ben Stone find themselves captured by strange humans. Just where have they come, and why have they been
brought here - and will any of them survive, or is Adrian right that the only way to succeed is to stop thinking of others altogether?
Review
Intercut with flashbacks to a school play one year ago, this issue creates more character depth even as it raises the overall stakes. The school
itself is largely left behind, save for the flashbacks, as the wayward teens become the driving stars - or possibly villains, in the case of Adrian,
who has all the amoral earmarks of a sociopath. More strange sights and dangers await the explorers, with odd touches of humor even as the violence
continues to escalate; the series earned an M rating. So far, it remains interesting and intense enough to keep me reading. (Plus, at least the next
volume is available via Hoopla - free's usually a good price.)
On the deadly alien moon where they've been inexplicably transported, the staff and students of Bay View Preparatory High School continue their struggle
to survive. As student president Maria steps into the void left by the deceased principal, pioneering new food gathering methods, the six students who
followed the arrow-stone into the woods have been taken to New London, a city founded two hundred years ago by a previous wave of human abductees.
What looks like a sanctuary, however, turns out to be a trap. Even now, soldiers from New London, led by the traitor Coach Clay, head back to the school to
"incorporate" the Americans into what amounts to slavery. Meanwhile, Adrian has given himself completely to the powers in the artifact stones - but
has he lost all trace of his humanity?
Review
The third installment adds some nice twists to the plot and characters, while introducing new allies and enemies. The alien energies behind the artifacts
and the malevolent woods still threaten, but the more immediate human threat takes (temporary) precedence, as friendships are tested and old antagonists
resurface. I look forward to seeing where the tale goes from here.
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